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.TH PCAP 3  "24 June 1998"
.SH NAME
pcap \- Packet Capture library
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
.ft B
#include <pcap.h>
.ft
.LP
.ft B
pcap_t *pcap_open_live(char *device, int snaplen,
.ti +8
int promisc, int to_ms, char *ebuf)
pcap_t *pcap_open_offline(char *fname, char *ebuf)
pcap_dumper_t *pcap_dump_open(pcap_t *p, char *fname)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
char errbuf[PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE];
char *pcap_lookupdev(char *errbuf)
int pcap_lookupnet(char *device, bpf_u_int32 *netp,
.ti +8
bpf_u_int32 *maskp, char *errbuf)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
int pcap_dispatch(pcap_t *p, int cnt,
.ti +8
pcap_handler callback, u_char *user)
int pcap_loop(pcap_t *p, int cnt,
.ti +8
pcap_handler callback, u_char *user)
void pcap_dump(u_char *user, struct pcap_pkthdr *h,
.ti +8
u_char *sp)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
int pcap_compile(pcap_t *p, struct bpf_program *fp,
.ti +8
char *str, int optimize, bpf_u_int32 netmask)
int pcap_setfilter(pcap_t *p, struct bpf_program *fp)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
u_char *pcap_next(pcap_t *p, struct pcap_pkthdr *h)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
int pcap_datalink(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_snapshot(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_is_swapped(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_major_version(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_minor_version(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_stats(pcap_t *p, struct pcap_stat *ps)
FILE *pcap_file(pcap_t *p)
int pcap_fileno(pcap_t *p)
void pcap_perror(pcap_t *p, char *prefix)
char *pcap_geterr(pcap_t *p)
char *pcap_strerror(int error)
.ft
.LP
.ft B
void pcap_close(pcap_t *p)
void pcap_dump_close(pcap_dumper_t *p)
.ft
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
The Packet Capture library
provides a high level interface to packet capture systems. All packets
on the network, even those destined for other hosts, are accessible
through this mechanism.
.PP
.SH ROUTINES
.B pcap_open_live()
is used to obtain a packet capture descriptor to look
at packets on the network.
.I device
is a string that specifies the network device to open.
.I snaplen
specifies the maximum number of bytes to capture.
.I promisc
specifies if the interface is to be put into promiscuous mode.
(Note that even if this parameter is false, the interface
could well be in promiscuous mode for some other reason.)
.I to_ms
specifies the read timeout in milliseconds.
.I ebuf
is used to return error text and is only set when
.B pcap_open_live()
fails and returns
.BR NULL .
.PP
.B pcap_open_offline()
is called to open a ``savefile'' for reading.
.I fname
specifies the name of the file to open. The file has
the same format as those used by
.B tcpdump(1)
and
.BR tcpslice(1) .
The name "-" in a synonym for
.BR stdin .
.I ebuf
is used to return error text and is only set when
.B pcap_open_offline()
fails and returns
.BR NULL .
.PP
.B pcap_dump_open()
is called to open a ``savefile'' for writing. The name "-" in a synonym
for
.BR stdout .
.B NULL
is returned on failure.
.I p
is a
.I pcap
struct as returned by
.B pcap_open_offline()
or
.BR pcap_open_live() .
.I fname
specifies the name of the file to open.
If
.B NULL
is returned,
.B pcap_geterr()
can be used to get the error text.
.PP
.B pcap_lookupdev()
returns a pointer to a network device suitable for use with
.B pcap_open_live()
and
.BR pcap_lookupnet() .
If there is an error,
.B NULL
is returned and
.I errbuf
is filled in with with an appropriate error message.
.PP
.B pcap_lookupnet()
is used to determine the network number and mask
associated with the network device
.BR device .
Both
.I netp
and
.I maskp
are
.I bpf_u_int32
pointers.
A return of -1 indicates an error in which case
.I errbuf
is filled in with with an appropriate error message.
.PP
.B pcap_dispatch()
is used to collect and process packets.
.I cnt
specifies the maximum number of packets to process before returning. A
.I cnt
of -1 processes all the packets received in one buffer. A
.I cnt
of 0 processes all packets until an error occurs,
.B EOF
is reached, or the read times out (when doing live reads and a non-zero
read timeout is specified).
.I callback
specifies a routine to be called with three arguments:
a
.I u_char
pointer which is passed in from
.BR pcap_dispatch() ,
a pointer to the
.I pcap_pkthdr
struct (which precede the actual network headers and data),
and a
.I u_char
pointer to the packet data. The number of packets read is returned.
Zero is returned when
.B EOF
is reached in a ``savefile.'' A return of -1 indicates
an error in which case
.B pcap_perror()
or
.BR pcap_geterr()
may be used to display the error text.
.PP
.B pcap_dump()
outputs a packet to the ``savefile'' opened with
.BR pcap_dump_open() .
Note that its calling arguments are suitable for use with
.BR pcap_dispatch() .
.PP
.B pcap_compile()
is used to compile the string
.I str
into a filter program.
.I program
is a pointer to a
.I bpf_program
struct and is filled in by
.BR pcap_compile() .
.I optimize
controls whether optimization on the resulting code is performed.
.I netmask
specifies the netmask of the local net.
.PP
.B pcap_compile_nopcap()
is similar to
.B pcap_compile()
except that instead of passing a pcap structure, one passes the
snaplen and linktype explicitly.  It is intended to be used for
compiling filters for direct bpf usage, without necessarily having
called
.BR pcap_open() .
.PP
.B pcap_setfilter()
is used to specify a filter program.
.I fp
is a pointer to an array of
.I bpf_program
struct, usually the result of a call to
.BR pcap_compile() .
.B \-1
is returned on failure;
.B 0
is returned on success.
.PP
.B pcap_loop()
is similar to
.B pcap_dispatch()
except it keeps reading packets until
.I cnt
packets are processed or an error occurs.
It does
.B not
return when live read timeouts occur.
Rather, specifying a non-zero read timeout to
.B pcap_open_live()
and then calling
.B pcap_dispatch()
allows the reception and processing of any packets that arrive when the
timeout occurs.
A negative
.I cnt
causes
.B pcap_loop()
to loop forever (or at least until an error occurs).
.PP
.B pcap_next()
returns a
.I u_char
pointer to the next packet.
.PP
.B pcap_datalink()
returns the link layer type, e.g.
.BR DLT_EN10MB .
.PP
.B pcap_snapshot()
returns the snapshot length specified when
.B pcap_open_live
was called.
.PP
.B pcap_is_swapped()
returns true if the current ``savefile'' uses a different byte order
than the current system.
.PP
.B pcap_major_version()
returns the major number of the version of the pcap used to write the
savefile.
.PP
.B pcap_minor_version()
returns the minor number of the version of the pcap used to write the
savefile.
.PP
.B pcap_file()
returns the name of the ``savefile.''
.PP
.B int pcap_stats()
returns 0 and fills in a
.B pcap_stat
struct. The values represent packet statistics from the start of the
run to the time of the call. If there is an error or the under lying
packet capture doesn't support packet statistics, -1 is returned and
the error text can be obtained with
.B pcap_perror()
or
.BR pcap_geterr() .
.PP
.B pcap_fileno()
returns the file descriptor number of the ``savefile.''
.PP
.B pcap_perror()
prints the text of the last pcap library error on
.BR stderr ,
prefixed by
.IR prefix .
.PP
.B pcap_geterr()
returns the error text pertaining to the last pcap library error.
.PP
.B pcap_strerror()
is provided in case
.BR strerror (1)
isn't available.
.PP
.B pcap_close()
closes the files associated with
.I p
and deallocates resources.
.PP
.B pcap_dump_close()
closes the ``savefile.''
.PP
.SH SEE ALSO
tcpdump(1), tcpslice(1)
.SH AUTHORS
The original authors are:
.LP
Van Jacobson,
Craig Leres and
Steven McCanne, all of the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
.LP
The current version is available from "The Tcpdump Group"'s Web site at
.LP
.RS
.I http://www.tcpdump.org/
.RE
.SH BUGS
Please send problems, bugs, questions, desirable enhancements, etc. to:
.LP
.RS
tcpdump-workers@tcpdump.org
.RE
.LP
Please send source code contributions, etc. to:
.LP
.RS
patches@tcpdump.org
.RE
